Let's talk about attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). ADHD is attention deficit with hyperactivity, so not only are children with this disorder easily distracted they are also very active. Young children with ADHD are usually in constant motion and have a hard time concentrating on activities.
An article on Sciencedaily.com stated that over 4 million children ages 4-17 have been diagnosed with ADHD, and discussed performance speed on tasks among children with ADHD (in other words how quickly a child completes a task). It also mentioned 'working memory' specifically. Working memory means a person's ability to process and recall information. An example would be to say the alphabet backwards. Working memory affects both cognitive and language skills and children with poor performance in this area on standardized evaluations, such as on those conducted by speech-language pathologists and psychologists, often have difficulty academically in school.
The main point the article made was the fact that children with ADHD have inconsistent performance on tasks, meaning they may do well one day, and poorly the next or even within the same day. It noted that levels of hyperactivity affect the response times children have. For example, the more hyperactive a child is at a given time, the slower the reaction time will be or the slower they are to respond to a problem or give an answer. It noted that the children with ADHD answered questions as accurately as their typically developing peers, however at times, it just took the children with ADHD longer to respond. This is a good thing to keep in mind when working with children who have ADHD as there are many times when pressure is put on students whether they are being formally tested or called upon in the classroom, to give a response in a certain amount of time. We need to remember to give children a chance to come up with an answer in an amount of time that is appropriate for them.
This holds true with all children. So many times we are too quick to answer for children instead of taking a step back to let them process what we have just said, find the answer, and then give it to us. In this busy world, it would do us all some good to slow down a little, think before we speak, and let the kids do the same.
You can find the article here:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090324141047.htm